Tim Kennedy unleashes on Melvin Manhoef before he submits him at Strikeforce

Tim Kennedy finished Melvin Manhoef in the first round, planting the rear naked choke on his opponent in the very first round. In addition, Jorge Masvidal gave Billy Evangelista his first loss as a professional, getting the unanimous decision win at Strikeforce: “Feijao” vs. Henderson.

In Kennedy’s win over Manhoef, the Dutch striker worked to keep this fight on the feet and beat his opponent’s lead leg in typical fashion. It didn’t stay standing long, though. Kennedy got his opponent down to ground and worked to get the advantageous position. Kennedy got the back mount and sunk in the rear naked choke in the first stanza, exciting the crowd in the process.

The official time of the stoppage was 3:41 of the opening round.

“I want to fight,” Kennedy said when asked who he wanted to fight next. “I fight for the fans and want to fight the best. If the match makers of Strikeforce don’t think I’m ready right now, give me the next best guy in the top-ten. That’s Robbie Lawler. I would love to fight Robbie.

“Let me have that guy.”

Jorge Masvidal at Strikeforce.

Evangelista and Masvidal began their fight with Masvidal showing some strong stand-up, using a lot of Thai boxing techniques and scoring more than his opponent on the feet. The second round had Masvidal continuing the striking and out pointing his opponent. Every takedown attempt by Evangelista was stopped by his Masvidal. Calm and relaxed, Masvidal was able to dictate every part of this fight through two rounds. The third round had Evangelist working in pressure-mode down two rounds to none. Masvidal’s head movement was too quick for the undefeated Evangelista’s strikes. From there, the fight went to a decision.

The official call of the bout had Jorge Masvidal deafeting Billy Evangelista by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27.